when the world collapses I'm going down with it. Hopefully spectacularly, but we'll see. I see no reason to struggle through a toxic wasteland hunting for glowing cockroaches to eat. If I can't get decent Thai food and some gourmet coffee, I'm outta here.

It's a camping trip in the desert, not the redemption of the fallen world - Cryptofishist

I would go to a little town at the end of the road. Nobody going through, you have to be headed there to get there. It would be a small town where people either knew me or I had relatives who could vouch for me. The road to town would be off a secondary road, not a primary road ... so it wouldn't be a town off of an interstate. It would be a town at the end of a road (only one way in and only one way out) that connects to a regional road, not something someone fleeing a city is going to stumble across. Would set up a checkpoint with the townsfolk about 20 miles outside of town to collect the lost (bridge is washed out ahead or something) and turn them around and vet anyone headed into town.

It would be somewhere between the Sierra Nevada and the Rockies that has a natural supply of good water.

Serious, tho, having firearms isn't the only factor. Consider: you have 50K semi-urbanites out there, some with about enough resources to maybe make it to Fernley, who are thrown into a worst case scenario situation. While some of us *do* make playa disaster situation contingencies most would be lost worse than the TV show. Put these so-called "in control" types into a terminal disaster situation, they become the nervous, panicky, delusional pack animals, just like any human. Plus they're 100+ miles from home, likely low on resources... and freaking the fuck out, worrying about "getting home"... whereever that is to them.

There aer some burners I would want in my group, as there are some non-burners, but there are far more I want nothing to do with. I kinda sorta plan on surviving to see tomorrow (Somebody's gotta hang out and restart society, right?)... if there is a tomorrow... and a lot of people would inhibit or destroy that ability in a group of burners, either knowingly or unknowingly. Knowing how to get the best use of the (for the time being) limited resources you got. yada yada yada...

I also don't tell people what my options are. My family - knows. A *few* close associates as well. They also know the difference between a "shit" situation and a "bugout and regroup" situation. Some I know I could trust. Others... I would trust to ruin my day. Betcha!!

Anyway, I could go on and on and on and on... but that you knew. My various bugout options - prolly not. Lets just say that "perfect location" isn't on most criteria, because lions hang around the watering hole... ;)

ju1ce wrote:In the event of the apocalypse I can't think of people I'd rather be around than burners. But the playa can't support life on an ongoing basis.

If society collapses, there should be pre-specified place to meet up.

Criteria: Not too close to a major city, not downriver or downwind from one. Potable water. Arable land.

Any ideas?

Sounds like Wyoming to me. Upstream from just about everybody, plenty of land and water. There's even coal right on the surface of the ground in some places and natural gas too! And fewer people in the whole state than here in Ventura County. Antelope up the yinyang,,,,, but then,,,,, there is winter,,,, sighhhhhh.

Burners don't have guns? What the hell ever gave you that idea? Anyway, if all else fails, I can always go fishin' with my welding machine.

Seriously, the only gun I have access to is a paintball marker! Here it is such a pain in the ass to get one, I have not bothered.

Now, knives on the other-hand always seem to be in some pocket somewhere.

As a RCMP's kid I grew up around guns & my oldest is a Army reservist. I know how to use, safely, but don't have. Is that weird??

If it comes to survival, I know about 20 wilderness locations that would work. Sure the winters will be kinda cold, but hey, your all welcome to join me!!! (Just go to the top of Montana and drive for about 6 hrs...)

sandypandy wrote:in the event of apocalypse, you think a community of hipsters and yupsters are going to gel together in any meaningful way? yikes! i'd rather hide in my basement with a ton of campbell's...

There will be huge numbers of people who demand that "somebody do something". People are becoming so conditioned to be "taken care of" by government, for example, that I am not sure the notion of being responsible for themselves will even occur to many of them beyond simply trying take something from someone else or demanding that government take from someone else and give to them.

They might see someone who has taken some initiative and is getting by, but then demand that it isn't "fair" that some have more than others and demand that some be taken away from that person and given to the others.

So what I believe will happen then is that the people who do have that initiative will flee. At that point the people who don't have the skills to get by on their own will have nobody to learn those skills from. They will have chased away all their potential mentors.

And increasingly large number of people depend on an decreasing number of people to feed them. All we need is one killing frost across the Midwest or say in the Central Valley of California and a lot of people will be in a world of hurt.

There are some skills people even in a city can learn that can increase their chances of survival. Learning how to preserve food isn't hard to do. Learning how to pickle things or learning how to can things can make a huge difference and can be done at home even in the city. This is important because food supplies could be fleeting. You might have access to something one day and it could be gone the next. Networking will be important too. Forming your own ad hoc "coop" among friends can greatly increase your access to things but you will find in hard times, people who do not contribute things will be shunned from such coops. People aren't going to be "taken care of" and are going to have to develop some skill that makes them an asset to those around them.

Learning how to repair clothing, how to make clothing, especially being able to take clothing that is "worn out" and making something else out of it, say by quilting or patching, gives you a useful still in a situation where the infrastructure can not deliver goods of sufficient quantity. Remaining calm is also important. Doing what you can to prevent further destruction of available resources and organizing efficient use of things can be important, too. That might be the "black rock ranger" type of person in such a situation. Pulling together as a community, sharing skills and resources, and helping calm the situation and keeping a clear head will be extremely important. There will be those who will simply agitate to inflame the situation and those people will make things worse. Those people may find themselves being physically eliminated by the community in a very severe situation. The community is not going to have resources to waste on jails and lawyers and trials and judges. They are likely to face a quick hearing and swift justice.

The bottom line is not to expect someone else to "take care of" you and don't expect any "Robin Hood" to take from someone else to give to you. You must justify your existence by having something to offer the community at large. In a severe crisis there aren't going to be a lot of outside resources to draw from.